DOHA: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Monday informed mediators Egypt and Qatar that the Palestinian resistance group had accepted their proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza after nearly seven months of relentless Israeli bombardment, AFP reported.
“Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of the Hamas movement, conducted a telephone call with the prime minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and with the Egyptian intelligence minister, Mr Abbas Kamel, and informed them of Hamas’s approval of their proposal regarding a ceasefire agreement,” the Palestinian group said in a statement published on its official website.
A senior Hamas official said Monday that Israel must decide whether it accepts or “obstructs” a truce in Gaza after the Palestinian resistance group announced it had accepted mediators’ latest proposal.
“After Hamas agreed to the mediators’ proposal for a ceasefire, the ball is now in the court of Israeli occupation, whether it will agree to the ceasefire agreement or obstruct it,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly about the negotiations.
The Palestinian group said in a statement that its chief, Ismail Haniyeh, had informed Qatar’s prime minister and Egypt’s intelligence chief of its acceptance of their proposal. The announcement came hours after Palestinians were warned to evacuate parts of the southern Gaza city of Rafah as Israel prepared for an attack certain to worsen an acute humanitarian crisis.
Earlier today, US President Joe Biden “reiterated his clear position” to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against a ground invasion of Rafah, a key city in southern Gaza, the White House said. The call took place after Israel defied US warnings and told Palestinians to evacuate part of the Rafah city.
The call between the two leaders comes as Biden intensifies diplomatic efforts to revive Gaza ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas. Jordan’s King Abdullah II is scheduled to visit the White House for talks.
Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell on Monday condemned Israel’s order for Palestinians living in eastern Rafah to flee the southern Gazan city ahead of an expected ground invasion.
“Israel’s evacuation orders to civilians in Rafah portend the worst: more war and famine. It is unacceptable. Israel must renounce to a ground offensive,” Borrell wrote in English on X, formerly Twitter. “The EU, with the International Community, can and must act to prevent such a scenario,” he added.
Meanwhile, Gaza civil defence and aid officials said on Monday that Israeli jets struck two areas in eastern Rafah the Israeli military had ordered to be evacuated. “The areas targeted by the Israeli occupation are near the perimeter of Gaza International Airport, the Al-Shuka area, the Abu Halawa area, the Salaheddin street area and the Salam neighbourhood,” Gaza Civil Defence Agency spokesman Ahmed Ridwan told AFP. Meanwhile, another aid official confirmed the Israeli strikes.
Earlier today, the Israeli army had ordered Palestinians in eastern Rafah to evacuate from the area. A spokesperson for the Israeli army told the media that it is evacuating about 100,000 people from eastern Rafah, ahead of an expected ground offensive. The world has warned Israel that a military operation in Rafah would be “catastrophic”.
The new development took place as the Israeli troops have started pounding Rafah, where over a million Palestinians are taking shelter, killing around 21 civilians, media reported earlier on Monday.
Emergency services said that seven people from one family and nine from another were martyred in the Israeli air strikes. Health source said that Israeli strikes took place in two different areas in the bordering city.
On Sunday, at least three Israeli soldiers were killed in a Hamas rocket attack, near the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah. Hamas’s military wing claimed responsibility for an attack on the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza on Sunday.
Gaza health ministry said that over 34,600 Palestinians have been killed mostly women and children in brutal Israeli strikes since October 7. Similarly, more than 78,000 people including women and children have been wounded in Israel’s air strikes.
